Cognative Enhancers

[woodchip]

I would be curious if any of you have tried using Ritalin or Adderall as a means to focus your study (read focus) ability? If so did your study abilities improve and what if any, were the side effects?

More importantly, as a ethical issue, would it be proper to use such cognitive enhancers in, lets say, the college arena? Would it be considered cheating or a tool? Thoughts please.

[Nightshade]

Ask Charlie Sheen.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Gekko71]

IIRC, Roid once made a post here about taking Piracetam during college. Piracetam has far fewer side effects than the drugs you mention and a proven efficacy. It is such a benign drug, it was (still is?) available as a food supplement.

[Nightshade]

Dude, you mean you haven't seen how bi-polar Roid seems in his posts? I dunno if it's so "benign."

[Gekko71]

I won't comment on the nature of Roid's posts, but Piracetam is definitely benign.

[SilverFJ]

I fooled around with a ton of speed when I was in high school (bad move, by the way, I don't reccomend it.), but when I was high on dope in class my paperwork was emmaculate, but you could see me coming down on the page as it went along.

[null0010]

This is called drug abuse. Those are powerful stimulants with very powerful side effects. They are intended for ADD/ADHD treatment, not "pulling all-nighters."

The most common side effects of ritalin and adderall are nervousness and insomnia or drowsiness. Other adverse reactions include:

* Abdominal pain
* Akathisia
* Alopecia
* Angina
* Appetite loss
* Anxiety or panic attacks[citation needed]
* Blood pressure and pulse changes (both up and down)
* Cardiac arrhythmia
* Diaphoresis (sweating)
* Dizziness
* Dyskinesia
* Dysphoria or Euphoria
* Headaches
* Hypersensitivity (including skin rash, urticaria, fever, arthralgia, exfoliative dermatitis, erythema multiforme, necrotizing vasculitis, and thrombocytopenic purpura)
* Lethargy
* Nausea
* Palpitations
* Pupil dilation
* Psychosis
* Short-term weight loss
* Somnolence
* Stunted growth
* Tachycardia
* Xerostomia (dry mouth aka cotton mouth)

Piracetam, too, is a drug meant to treat seizures, dementia, concussions, and other neurological problems, not for "pulling all-nighters." According to wikipedia there is "very little data" on its effects on people without these conditions.

I had to take ritalin and adderall as a child for ADHD symptoms (before anyone bitches about overtreatment/overdiagnosis of this, I was diagnosed by 3 completely unaffiliated psychiatrists so keep your shirt on) and trust me, they are NOT fun. They sap your creativity and too high a dose (which only a doctor can reliably determine) will cause you to literally feel lethargic and zombie-like. These are very powerful drugs and they should not be toyed with just because you forgot to study for your mid-term.

[Nightshade]

Null is quite correct- in fact the brain is a very fragile bioelectrical machine. Quite a number of these drugs are little more than the equivalent of aluminum bats being banged against it to try to move behavior in one direction or another- doctors don't fully understand what damage and/or changes these drugs may induce (in some cases, permanently.)

[Foil]

I'd be pretty skeptical about their efficacy for students, too.

Sure, a little caffeine helped me stay awake during some of my math professor's legendary exams (some over 4 hours long). However, as I recall, it sometimes would make me fidgety or even trigger a migraine, hurting my grades.

I'd venture that anything stronger than caffeine is generally going to do more to hurt than help, when it comes to taking exams.

[Jeff250]

Some people like Paul Erdos seemed to be able to pull it off, but I don't think I ever could.

[Tunnelcat]

Nootropics are the nontoxic types of cognitive enhancers. Caffeine is probably the safest thing to take for temporarily boosting brain function. It's listed under Stimulents - Xanthenies:

Nootropics

But everything has a caveat. Caffeine raises blood pressure, agitation/excitability levels and delays sleep onset at night.

More Smart Drug Reference Links

[Top Gun]

Null is quite correct- in fact the brain is a very fragile bioelectrical machine. Quite a number of these drugs are little more than the equivalent of aluminum bats being banged against it to try to move behavior in one direction or another- doctors don't fully understand what damage and/or changes these drugs may induce (in some cases, permanently.)

The real kicker is that medical science still doesn't entirely understand how many drugs used for treatment of mental conditions actually work, only the results they produce. There's something rather discomfiting about seeing a commercial for a drug related to something you're on have a line like, "This drug is thought to work by..."

[Burlyman]

Null, you sound like a commercial. ^_~
I wouldn't recommend adderall for anything at all.

[roid]

roid
roid
roid
roid

i'm careful with caffeine atm, it effects my sleep (even over 12 hours later), and if i'm already anxious it can make me completely unable to calm down. I'm not taking caffeine atm (apart from in dark chocolate), no cola, no coffee.
BUT - i'm occasionally taking piracetam (took it today coincidentally), i recommend it.

OP, yes I would take all of the above to help mental acuity.
I don't consider it cheating, because educating yourself isn't a competition against anyone. These drugs help you absorb information, even afterwards when you're clean - the information is still there - it's yours. I see education as a human right. These "competition/cheating" arguments always make me feel rather uncomfortable, it reveals an ugly classism underlying some people's perceptions of what education is.

I first started taking piracetam years back when i was panicing about my apparent loss of memory and mental faculties (still an issue, and is probably caused by longterm depression/anxiety which i may have hid from ppl here). So no, it wasn't the cause of any of my issues, but rather... well i suppose a symptom of my existential panic.

[Isaac]

I think you're all on drugs.

[Tunnelcat]

roid
roid
roid
roid

i'm careful with caffeine atm, it effects my sleep (even over 12 hours later), and if i'm already anxious it can make me completely unable to calm down. I'm not taking caffeine atm (apart from in dark chocolate), no cola, no coffee.
BUT - i'm occasionally taking piracetam (took it today coincidentally), i recommend it.

Heck, I can fall asleep after right after taking 100 mg of caffeine. It's using the computer in the evening that wrecks my sleep. That and menopause.

[Sergeant Thorne]

... i was panicing about my apparent loss of memory and mental faculties (still an issue, and is probably caused by longterm depression/anxiety which i may have hid from ppl here).

I can relate to the loss of mental facilities and memory, due to depression. Basically a an emotionally-forced state of extreme mental lethargy, if I were to try to define it. I did pull out of it, though. Got my life straightened around in a number of ways, got my first full-time job--discipline, exercise, and refusing to give any place to overly negative thinking did me a world of good (not ignoring negative things to the point of being irresponsible, but do something about it if you can, and if you can't focus on what you can do). I can honestly say it was the sharpest I've ever been, and it got easier. Then I crashed (2 years). Not inevitable, but I got hit pretty hard by some stuff after that and didn't react well. Still not totally over it.

FYI

[Isaac]

It's using the computer in the evening that wrecks my sleep.

Yes!!! We should start calling these one way time machines.

[Tunnelcat]

Well, the adrenaline from playing all those computer games doesn't help either.